The
Total Recall DUD OF THE MONTH COLLECTION!
GIGAWING
2
(Capcom, 2001)
This shooting game was
one of Capcom's last games for then fading game system; the Sega
Dreamcast, so I picked it up to see if it was any good. Unfortunately,
because this game is so outrageously hard in difficulty, Capcom put in unlimited
continues so players would have a chance to finish it. That may not seem like
a bad idea at first but when you finish the game in just a half hour after
dying for the say 50th or so time then you know something's very, very wrong
here.
Giga Wing 2 tries to be like one of my favourite shooters, Star Soldier Vanishing Earth on N64 with
it's cool reflective shields to counter attacks enemy bullets by sending them
back or by collecting them for a stronger counter attack but Giga Wing 2 is
so unplayable because the screen is always filled with gun fire anyways and
your shield has a 10 second delay every time it's used so there is little
point. It would have been better if your ship didn't just take one hit or
if there was any kind of shield power up but nope. There are only 5 levels
as well so the game is over very soon and there is nothing stopping you from
seeing all there is to see thanks again to those unlimited continues. I remember
when shooters were well balanced in both game play and challenge like in R Type or Thunder Force III but
Giga Wing 2 is nothing more then a quarter sucker transferred home.
Giga Wing 2 isn't without some good points though. Giga Wing 2 is one of the
few four player shooters out there (I think there are some other ones in Japan
but I'm sure there are very few of them) If you have a friend or friends playing
with you then the really doesn't seem all that hard although it's very easy
to get confused especially when there are four of you on screen at once. Plus
you can always go for a better score each time you play in either the standard
game or the Score Attack mode, so the game does have some replay value.
The games graphics look great with realistic 3D backgrounds that are always
changing, even during the same level plus you'll hardly see any slowdown despite
all that carnage on the screen at once (and believe me there is a lot!) which
shows off the power of the 128-bit Dreamcast. My only complaint with the visuals
is that the intermission scenes look unimpressive with just still pieces of
artwork and there are no voices either during the dialogue. The intermissions
are especially disappointed after seeing that awesome opening CG intro. The
opera style music is very well orchestrated and fits the early 20th look just
right plus it gets ya in the mood to shoot stuff down. The sound effects do
the job with loud explosions and bullet fire but they are nothing too special.
This game is a lot better than that other stupid Dreamcast shooter game called
Gun Bird 2 (also from Capcom) because of Giga Wing
2’s reflective shield option and this also has better graphics but if
you remember that entire arcade era where shooters just cover the player if
enemy shots all the time then you should know what Giga Wing 2 is all about.
Even though I’m a diehard shooting fan myself, Giga Wing 2 left a bitter
taste in my mouth simply because the game play just wasn't there. I would
rent it if you have some friends over and they want to play something easy
to master but I sure wouldn't buy it. "It's just not a fair game!"
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